Recently, ten members of PEARLS for Teen Girls, Inc. participated in Milwaukee Public Schools’ Riverside University High School 12th annual “Box City” event to raise money for Habitat for Humanity and raise awareness about homelessness.

Beginning at 5:00 p.m. last Thursday, the PEARLS girls, along with other students at Riverside, built temporary shelters out of boxes and slept outdoors to gain better understanding of the struggles homeless people face.

“Homelessness is a real problem in our community, but it is so easy to become apathetic about this reality when you aren’t directly impacted by it,” said Danae Davis, Chief Executive Officer of PEARLS for Teen Girls.

“Our hope is that our PEARLS girls take this experience to heart, realize how fortunate they are and remember the importance of supporting our community in ways such as participating in events like Box City.”

This year’s event is expected to raise between $3,000 and $5,000 dollars.